The President is Putting His Legacy Over America’s Security Interests

Washington, D.C. – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 3662, the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act:

“Iran must be held accountable for its violations of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. However, the Administration is afraid to impose sanctions—and in fact wants to lift sanctions— out of fear that Iran will back away from the nuclear deal. The Iran deal is the cornerstone of President Obama’s foreign policy legacy, and it looks more and more like the President is putting that legacy above the national security interests of the United States.

“But the President has it exactly wrong. If we lift sanctions on Iran despite its ballistic missile tests and its detaining of American sailors, Iran has no incentive to follow any international agreement, including President Obama’s fundamentally flawed nuclear deal. Furthermore, when America refuses to hold aggressor nations accountable, we lose respect abroad, allowing countries from Iran to North Korea and beyond to act even more irresponsibly. I would like to thank Representative Steve Russell (OK-05) for his leadership getting this bill onto the floor for a bipartisan vote. Iran should not be given free rein in a futile attempt to keep them in a bad deal. We need to impose strong sanctions against Iran, not lift the sanctions we already have, so Iran understands that it’s behavior and actions will not be tolerated.”